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University Campus Forli'

Brief

The Gaia Group was invited to join a consortium of Italian consultants in entering a competition for the conversion of an existing city centre Hospital complex into a 'Sustainable' University campus - comprising both refurbishment and newbuild opportunities. This was also to be within a context of the existing - and historically significant - urban fabric of Forli'.

Design

The Approach taken by Gaia and adopted by the consortium was very much based on looking at the University within the whole urban context of the city. This meant first of all looking at the ancient grain of a high density old town and then the position of the site as being between this and the suburban fringe and then the site itself which cuts across the grain.
The interventions proposed were all based on ecological principles - retaining and indeed reiterating the brick and timber detailing and the scale of the traditional building technology of the city, and respecting the orientation and vegetation for the benefit of creating an acceptable microclimate by passive means. The whole approach resulted in an urban form which turned out to be almost anonymous in its impact at urban grain level - but very significant in 'healing' a part of the city that had always been at odds with its immediate neighbourhood.